There is no shortage of advice on how to live a good life. Minimalists recommend jettisoning virtually all of your possession. Tidy people suggest a similar strategy, but they think it is wise to thank everything they toss away for its faithful service. Reducing your possessions to a tidy little pile makes them easier to fit in a tiny net-zero house. Financial independents argue that the good life requires eliminating as many purchases as possible (and drastically reducing the costs of necessary purchases) to save a higher percentage of their income and eventually live on their investment returns. Vegans are saving the planet (and lowering their cholesterol levels) by cutting all animal products from their diets.
They all have a point, or maybe several points. Material possessions cost money to buy and once you have them, they take time, attention, and more money to maintain. Having fewer of them should make life a bit easier. Giving some careful thought to where and how you store what remains should make the care and feeding of your gear easier. At least it will be easier to find your green socks.
Living in a smaller place also has an appeal, particularly if you are paying someone else to clean up your current space. And who hasn't fantasized about being financially independent, even if only by way of the lottery or a surprise inheritance? Veganism is a harder sell, but it is tough to argue that the world would be a worse place with fewer concentrated animal feeding lots.
The problem is that these (and other) approaches are pretty extreme, at least for me. The problems in my life are not going to be resolved by packing up all of my belongings and then only unpacking the things I really need until I reach 100 possessions. I am fairly neat by nature, but KonMari's techniques for folding clothes made my eyes glaze over. And there is no way two people, two cats, and two litter boxes are going to live happily ever after in a 400 square foot house, even if it is powered entirely by our good intentions. Financial independence appears more achievable, but getting there is difficult. I have been carefully living below my means for the better part of a decade and I am (maybe) halfway there. A Honolulu mortgage is harder to cut back than a daily latte. Plus, I don't mind paying a pro to cook my dinner and I don't see the harm in occasionally including cheese or fish in the meal.
Is there a law of diminishing returns in the quest to live a good life? Am I going to notice any difference in my sense of well being if I hang on to 110 things instead of 100? What about pushing it to 500? Or more? And what if I let some things stay disorganized? My junk drawer has more than 100 items in it, so a little flexibility could save me a lot of time and effort, which is kind of the point, right? Could I be happy with all that stuff in a bigger place? Our house clocks in at nearly 3000 square feet. And at just over 50 years old with good cholesterol numbers, do I really have to stop eating expensive animal-based meals in restaurants to become financially independent right now? Instead of striving to find the perfect recipe for the good life, could I just live a good enough life?
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